chapter 4
Why positive thinking is outdated
‘One is a great deal less anxious if one feels perfectly free to be anxious.’
Alan Watts
It was 2013 and I was in Tokyo leading a series of inside>out coaching programmes. The positive thinking movement was gaining momentum. Many of the students told me they had been encouraging their clients to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. ‘It’s important to have a positive mindset,’ one told me.
I shared the following story with them.
A farmer had a horse that helped his family earn a living. One day, the horse ran off. His neighbours cried out, ‘Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!’ The farmer ...
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